


"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind..."

by kotaka_kun



Category: Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Genre: F/M, forgive me for the liberties I've taken with the characterizations..., mrs. potts is a Mom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 19:14:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10520091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kotaka_kun/pseuds/kotaka_kun
Summary: What happened in the short span of time from when the Beast demanded Belle leave, to him rescuing her from the wolves.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I think I ended up liking this movie far more than I had any right to.

The Beast’s roar echoed through the halls of the castle when he yelled at Belle to leave, to get out, and Mrs. Potts watched in horror as Belle fled the castle looking absolutely terrified.

“It’s dangerous!” Lumiere had called out in desperation to stop Belle, but the girl did not pay his words any mind, and in a blink of an eye, she was gone.

“Oh my.” Mrs. Potts bit her lip nervously, and without hesitation, headed right upstairs to the Master’s chambers. There wasn’t a moment to lose. The forest trail leading back to town was a perilous one. There were wolves for one thing, and frostbite could be just as deadly.

Adam was pacing back and forth in front of the rose. He snarled when he heard the door opening, but stopped short when he saw just who it was that had come in.

“You go out there and bring her back this instant!” Mrs. Potts said, her cart rolling closer. Adam snorted.

“Why should I? She must be happy to leave this wretched place. I set her free.” he growled mockingly.

“It’s dangerous! The wolves could get her!” the teapot insisted. Adam rolled his eyes.

“And I suppose I should care?”

“You very well should!” she screeched. Mrs. Potts was more livid than Adam ever remembered seeing her.

“And why is that?” he growled. He did not take kindly to being screamed at, but Mrs. Potts wasn’t about to back off so easily. She was made of tougher stuff than that.

“Because she could die out there!” she replied, eyes widened in disbelief at the fact that she should even have to argue on the matter with him. But when he’d snorted disparagingly, she blew her top.

“Do you intend to turn into your father, then?” she all but screamed at him. Adam snapped around to look at her in shock, too stunned at her harsh words to even get angry. “The man didn’t even bat an eye when sending servants off to die, did he? Are you no better than he?”

Adam visibly bristled at that, but she wasn’t done.

“I’ve always been able to look after you with a good conscience because I believed you were more human despite your outward appearance. You might have a terrible temper, but you’ve never hurt any of us, no matter how upset you’ve been.”

“Even... Even if I were to bring her back, what good would it do? She despises me. She’ll never learn to love me.” Adam mumbled petulantly after a stretch of silence.

“Perhaps that may be so, but it is your duty to _try_.”

He blinked.

“In case you’ve forgotten, the spell didn’t just curse you.” she said boldly. “It cursed _all_ of us. It isn’t just about you not caring about yourself any more. It never was, you know. This is about Lumiere, Cogsworth, Plumette, me, my son...” she trailed off. “Your selfishness won’t just be affecting you, Master. It affects all of those you’ve employed in the castle.” Her voice was softer, but no less sharp. “I would not be so forward of myself if it was you just being self depreciating. But all of our futures depend on the girl seeing you for who you are. Who I know you to be, Master.”

It was almost amusing, how easily Mrs. Potts could turn his anger and frustration into shame and guilt.

Mrs. Potts had been one of the few to approach him after the enchantress had cursed them all. The only thing he could bring himself to do was destroy any semblance of the life that was his no longer, for he was no prince. He was the Beast. Family portraits, the lavish decorations he’d had made specifically for the ball that had ended in his undoing, all of it. He’d destroyed it.

All the servants had kept their distance then, and it only made Adam more livid, less human than he’d like to admit.   
But then on yet another sleepless night that Adam meant to spend brooding in his lair, Mrs. Potts had rolled in on her cart with Chip at her side, offering him a hot cup of chamomile tea.

“I know this is all terribly upsetting,” she had said sympathetically, “But chin up, Master. It’ll be alright.” He’d snarled, gnashing his teeth at her. How dare she say such a thing with no basis, no proof! “Now have a nice cup of tea, won’t you? I’m sure you’ll feel better when you wake up in the morning.”

Adam had swallowed down the tea if only to get her to go away, but to his dismay, she’d remained, humming a soft lullaby as he lingered in his lair, but soon, he found himself yawning, his eyelids drooping. After a gentle “Into bed you go, dear.” Adam complied and climbed into bed. He was awfully tired, after all.   

There’d been something about Mrs. Potts’ fearlessness that had moved him. For the first time, it felt like someone was taking care of him not because they were under any obligation to do so, but because they were genuinely worried for his well being.

And now, she was worried about that girl’s well being. It couldn’t be helped, he thought to himself. It was just in her maternal nature. With a disgruntled huff, he stalked out of his room, and then without another word, he’d dashed out of the castle following the trail that the stupid girl had undoubtedly taken - the trail that passed through the territory of wolves. Did the girl really just have no sense of self preservation?

He finally spotted her, and he nearly rolled his eyes when he saw that she was completely surrounded by wolves. He honed in on the one tensing, and the moment it lunged at her, he lunged at it.

The fight that followed was by far the most unnecessary one he’d fought in years, and he belatedly realized that he’d rather forgotten how to be afraid. Even with wolves attacking him from every direction, his clawed paws swatted them away like flies. Save for the ones that actually managed to sink their teeth into him. Those hurt more than he would’ve liked. For a moment in the heat of the battle, Adam wondered if he was about to lose his life here. If he died, the girl would die too.   
He thought back to what Mrs. Potts had said.   
He wouldn’t be like his father.

He’d protect her.

Strength renewed, he threw the last of the wolves to the ground and outright roared at them, and the pathetic things went scampering away.

Adam finally stood, turning to look at Belle. She looked horrified, and had he had the strength to laugh, he would have done so. Great lot of good saving her had done. Now she was looking at him like she’d never seen anything more terrifying.

His entire being throbbed painfully, and he could distantly feel his own blood oozing out of his open wounds and into his fur.

His vision wavered, he felt his legs give out on him, and he collapsed in a heap on the cold, snowy ground.

He closed his eyes and thought of his mother.

He wondered if she’d be proud of his actions.

He wondered if he would be left here to die.The girl had called him cold hearted when she’d first met him; how fitting would it be for him to be left to die in a place as cold and dark and desolate as his heart?

Imagine his astonishment when he felt the weight of a coat being draped over his shoulders, and gentle hands brushing themselves along his back, almost as though they were petting him. Cracking a weary eye open, he looked up at Belle, and he was perplexed to see the look of worry on her face.

She’d told him to stand, and he’d complied with great difficulty, but somehow managed to pull himself onto the horse. The poor horse. He could almost feel it’s back creaking under his weight, and he vaguely recalled mumbling an apology to him.

When they’d finally reached the castle, they were flocked by the servants, all looking terribly worried and utterly distraught at seeing their master in such a state. With the help of all the staff and Belle alike, they got him into bed, and Belle went to work tending to his wounds.

* * *

Adam felt as though he were swimming in black molasses. His entire body felt heavy, and he could barely open his eyes. But he could hear a woman’s voice somewhere in the far distance. At first, it sounded muffled, and he couldn’t quite make it out. He tried desperately to focus on it, to find out who she was and what she was saying, and the harder he focused, the clearer her voice became. But it wasn’t her voice he recognized at first. It was the words she spoke. The practiced lines of Shakespeare were so familiar, in his sleep muddled brain, Adam believed it to be his mother, if only for the briefest of moments.

“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,” the passage had said. He would soon find out just how perfectly the phrase described their imminent future.


End file.
